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08 January 2010

After coming to the realization that even open-source shit has more structure than I've given you guys for my style of lifting, and the fact that at least one person has been a whiny little bitch about getting a full program, I have produced one, if for no other reason than to prevent a global flood from all of the tears being shed. Apparently, a paucity of programmed workouts leads to uncontrollable sobbing worldwide.

Thus, I present to you "Exercises in Extremity".

I realize that this still doesn't give some of you the type of security you want in a workout, and to that, I say tough shit. My entire training philosophy is based upon the idea that people should do what works first and foremost, and then what they enjoy doing. That's right, what WORKS, first and foremost, and then what you enjoy- so stop fucking doing dumbbell flies. They're fucking worthless, and they irritate the living fucking shit out of me to see people doing them so they can get ripped pecs. Stop doing them; they're fucking stupid.

Leave them to this poof.

That out of the way, here's how this template works- it's like a Choose Your Own Adventure Book.

Those books fucking rocked balls.

You're going to pick your workout, then pick it's attributes, and then fucking annihilate it. The next day, you'll do the same thing, only picking a different block. The next day, you pick a different block from day 2 (even if it's the same as day 1, though I recommend picking a different permutation in exercise and reps). And so on, and so on.

You're confused. I can see the stupid look on your face through your computer. Thus, I shall give examples.

We'll pretend that I'm a deadlift fanatic. I love to pull. It's awesome, and I want to bring up my pull even higher. As such, I'm going to pick a pull day to start (that's a B block).

Day 1

Block B-2 (and since I love triples, I'll do 10x3)

Deadlift 10x3

Pushdowns 10x3

Thereafter, I do some neck and ab work, because I feel like it.

Day 2- my legs are tired and my traps are thrashed, so I decide to hit a light day

Block D-1 (giant set)

Dips

Pullup

Ab Wheel

Day 3- refreshed, I decide to hit shoulders hard as fuck, so I do

Block C- Heavy Alternate

Overhead Lockouts 15x1

Barbell cheat curls 10x3

Because I chose to do singles, but didn't want to do singles on the curls, I'll superset for the first 10 sets, then just do OH presses for the final 5 sets. Afterward, I do some calf raises and forearm work, since I know I'm gonna squat tomorrow.

Day 4

Block A-1

Front Squat 15x1

Close Grip Bench Press 15x1

When done, I'm beat and starving, so I head home and eat my face off.

Day 5- Refreshed from a 3 hour cheat window, I want to pull again. Thus, I choose:

Block B-1

High Pull 12x2Skullcrusher / Super Skull After I finish that, I've still got gas in the tank, so I hit some stone loading for a while, and then go home and crash out.

... and so on, and so on.

Want to know when to take a day off? When your body tells you to. No one's exactly like another person, and most cookie-cutter routines bear the built-in assumption that you suck as a human being, thus treating you with kid gloves and insuring slight but steady gains. That's not what I'm about. I'm going to assume, against my better instincts, that you're more like me than you are like every leg-deficient, fucking asshole I've ever seen in a commercial gym. As such, use cramping or horrifyingly pronounced fatigue as a method for determining when you need time off. Otherwise, train away.

Don't be this guy.

To forestall these symptoms, I recommend the following: sleep, ice, heat, and supplementation. "Ice reduces traumatically induced inflammation and reduces the collagen breakdown that can occur on joint surfaces with heavy training. So literally every trainee should consider ice application to the affected joints after training. Couple that with some high rep/low intensity exercise and you've got a great joint saving prescription." (1) As I stated in my previous blog, I'm a fan of the application of heat to warm up, and I'm planning on trying a hot tub tonight to see if and how that helps. The Russians were also massive fans of heat/ice baths, so there must be something to that. Otherwise, I recommend a ton of water and a good multi, in addition to protein supplementation to stave off overuse issues.

Lastly, and explanation of the Super Bear, which I'm sure I've detailed before, and Super Skulls:

Super Bear- Just like the Bear, only with Overhead Squats at the top of each press. Thus, clean, front squat, press, front squat, overhead squat, back squat, press, overhead squat, front squat, clean back to the floor. THIS SUCKS.

Super Skull- It's a skullcrusher with a weight you can do for a decent number of reps. Descend in a four count, then pulse it at the bottom (1/4 reps) for 3 reps, and blast it explosively back to the top.

Finally, if you want to add in extra daily sessions, I recommend adding in light work on exercises you do not plan on doing the following day, just in case you get carried away.

This isn't fucking brain surgery. It's weightlifting. Get your asses to the gym and make it fucking happen.

I've got my own variation of this, based on some of the older posts. I'll use this to refine it a bit. I stick to about the same rep/set schemes you list here, as well as the short intervals between sets.

Monday and Thursday, I do 1 push (bench press, CG bench press, push press, BTN push press), 1 pull (weighted chins, bent over rows, upright rows, barbell shrugs), and 1 squat or deadlift (front squat, back squat, deadlift, Romanian deadlift, back extensions holding heavy dumbbells). Tuesday and Friday I do a "light" day at high speeds... it looks like Tuesdays I do an ab exercise and a calf exercise, and add in two of: neck extensions, rope pulldowns, bodyweight chinups, forearm/grip work, hammer curls, barbell curls, etc., and on Fridays (as of today) I am doing barbell and dumbbell snatches, dumbbell swings, and other similar activities at a high pace. Wednesdays and Saturdays (which are also "paleo eating" days with a cheat window to boot) I hit a single compound excercise, super-heavy, for a full range of motion and then a partial range of motion. I might do squats and then squat lockouts, or bench press and BP lockouts, or just deadlift (rack pulls don't do anything for me with my arm length, so I don't do partial deadlifts).

One of the keys is that I don't know what exercises I will be doing until I get to the gym. I will think about it during the day, but when I get there, I let my mood and instinct take over. As long as I stick to the pattern, I get a brutal training session in, and I've been seeing big gains:

* I had been bouncing between 207 and 215 for 6 months; I hit 217 after a few weeks, and I have not been able to fall below 215. BF% hasn't gone up (stayed about the same, but I am eating a LOT more now).

* My PRs have all been destroyed. I'm doing 5 - 10 singles at my previous 1RM in bench press. My squat weight (both for reps and 1RM) is up 50%. My deadlift PR went from 455 total to 505 total; I almost completed a 515 pull a few days ago at the *end* of an intense DL session. I've added 2 reps onto my BW chinups.

* Significant changes in metabolism; extraordinary hunger throughout the day, BM frequency up significantly (and this is without fat burners). For dinner tonight I ate 1 lb. of steak and 2 turkey sausages, and I was still hungry. I no longer eat "meals", I now am just putting 1/4 lb. - 1/2 lb. of meat in my mouth every 2 hours, and on a "paleo day" I'll add some fruits & veggies in a few times throughout the day. My "cheat windows" can now cost me $15 at a *cheap* Mexican restaurant. They give me 2 forks because they think I'm ordering for two. Think about that for a moment.

* Extremely deep sleep. Went from living on 5 - 6 hours a night to barely surviving with 7 - 8.

* I acheived complete system collapse two weeks ago, which hasn't happened to me since I was on the Arnold Six Day Splits. I literally could barely get out of bed or go up stairs for a few days.

* Soreness in places that had never been sore before, despite endless isolation movements. In particular, my posterior chain, traps, and obliques. Things are getting hit in ways that they never were hit before.

To the idiot who asked about nutrition - What are you fucking retarded? You follow C&P's diet of meat, testicles and steroids. Then you look at yourself in the mirror, worry that this has become your life, and do "keto" for a bit. But don't worry there is always the "cheat window". We are MEN on this site. Not pussies who worry about their appearances.

Hey guys,I am following something close to this and I had good results for the first month of training on this BUT as a matter of fact, I am not getting stronger anymore! Diet is in good order and sleep is plenty. Any thoughts?

J Ja- I'll check out those recommendations you made today and see what's what. Looks like interesting reading.

As for "something close to this", you might want to strive for more clarity in your questions if you want anything other than a "shut the fuck up bitch"-style response. Furthermore, plateaus happen. This style of lifting will have you pretty much vacillating between massive jumps in strength and maintenance periods. You'll learn to live with it. Rome wasn't built in a day, and it also wasn't built according to a steady model of progression employed in defiance of human nature, common sense, and testicular fortitude.

I believe dumbbell flies are used in the Sheiko routine as a means of stretching and recovery and that guy knows some shit...He has produced some of strongest dudes in the world either directly or indirectly.

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